Portable navigation devices (PNDs) for in-car navigation are becoming increasingly widespread. They have many advantages over existing integrated or factory installed navigation systems, such arising primarily from their portability and the ease with which they can be connected to a personal computer, and can be so updated, enhanced and otherwise re-configured as the user desires.
More recent PNDs are provided with significant processing power and memory, the latter being provided as either on board RAM and ROM, and built-in or removable physical storage such as the now ubiquitous memory cards of differing proprietary varieties, e.g. SD™, CompactFlash™, MemoryStick and the like. These enhancements render PNDs to accommodate a large amount of user-uploaded material, such as digitized video, music and other content in different formats, but primarily music in mp3 format.
The operating software of such PNDs has therefore more recently been extended to facilitate the playback of such material, particularly music, through either speakers provided as part of the device, or through remote audio apparatus with which the PND is in communication and to which the PND can stream or otherwise transmit digital content. In particular, the PND software now includes a jukebox facility whereby the user can control the manner of playback of his locally stored digital music tracks. The functionality of the jukebox facility will typically be controlled through a “preferences” menu screen displayed by the operating software of the PND at the selection of a user, such preferences facilitating organization and classification of digital music such as mp3s, and the ultimate choice of music for playback through any of a number of different means, e.g. by means of a user-set playlist, by artist, album, or genre, or by simply selecting an individual digital track being a locally stored file on the PND.
Of course, such facilities may be disabled in the case where the user has not uploaded any digital content onto the PND device, or alternatively connected a digital music (or other content) reproduction device, such an iPod® or other suitably enabled device.
It is an object of this invention to provide a means whereby the operation of a PND can be improved in the case where a user wishes to use the enhanced functionality of the device in its role as both navigation device and digital music player.